Junior G-Men of the Air
| runtime = 12 chapters (225 minutes) | country = United States | language = English | budget = }} Junior G-Men of the Air is a 1942 Universal film serial starring the Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys.Weiss and Goodgold 1973, pp. 199–200. A group of youthful flying enthusiasts join the "Junior G-Men" to help break up a planned attack on the United States. Rainey 2010, pp. 130–131. Plot During World War II, members of The Dead End Kids, a youth gang, Billy "Ace" Holden (Billy Halop), "Bolts" Larson (Huntz Hall), "Stick" Munsey (Gabriel Dell), Ace's brother, Eddie (Gene Reynolds) and "Greaseball" Plunkett (Bernard Punsly) are working in an salvage yard owned by Ace's father (Eddy Waller), recovering aircraft parts. While making their escape from robbing a bank, members of a fifth column organization, the "Order of the Black Dragonfly", steal the boys' wrecking truck. When agent Don Ames (Richard Lane) from the State Bureau of Investigation, returns their truck, the gang who is distrustful of authority, especially, the "cops", refuse to give a description of the men who stole the truck. Don asks Jerry Markham (Frank Albertson), leader of the (the Little Tough Guys), called the "Junior G-Men" to ask Ace for help. Both boys are passionate about aircraft and flying and agree to join forces. Meanwhile, Axis agents working for "The Baron" (Lionel Atwill), a Japanese leader of the "Order of the Black Dragonfly", have more plans for the junkyard, especially the aircraft parts stored there. The Baron has orders to destroy anything that may help the Allied cause. Ace and Jerry join together to go look for the enemy saboteurs, and find their secret hideout in a farm outside the city. The enemy agents capture Ace and Eddie, who escape in one of the aircraft that the Baron uses. Their takeoff ends in disaster as Ace hits a fence, tearing off the landing gear and punching a hole in the gasoline tank. The boys parachute to safety and make their way to government headquarters. The Dead End Kids and Junior G-Men lead the government to the Baron's base and a furious battle takes place. Ace and Jerry personally capture the Baron and receive the government's thanks for bringing the enemy agents to justice. Chapter titles # Wings Aflame # The Plunge of Peril # Hidden Danger # The Tunnel of Terror # The Black Dragon Strikes # Flaming Havoc # The Death Mist # Satan Fires the Fuse # Satanic Sabotage # Trapped in a Burning 'Chute # Undeclared War # Civilian Courage ConquersCline 1984, p. 223. Cast The Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys * Billy Halop as Billy "Ace" Holden * Huntz Hall as "Bolts" Larson * Gabriel Dell as "Stick" Munsey * Bernard Punsly as "Greaseball" Plunkett * David Gorcey as Double Face Gordon * Billy Benedict as Whitey Additional cast * Gene Reynolds as Eddie Holden * Lionel Atwill as The Baron, a Japanese spy * Frank Albertson as Jerry Markham * Richard Lane as Agent Don Ames * Frankie Darro as Jack * Turhan Bey as Araka, The Baron's "Spear-point Heavy" (chief henchman) * John Bleifer as Beal, one of The Baron's henchman * Eddie Foster as Comora, one of The Baron's henchman * John Bagni as Augar, one of The Baron's henchman * Noel Cravat as Monk, one of The Baron's henchman * Eddy Waller (uncredited) as Jed Holden Production Junior G-Men of the Air was the third of Universal's three serials with the Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys (preceded by Junior G-Men and Sea Raiders). The serial is the 55th of Universal's sound-era serials (following Gang Busters and ahead of Overland Mail) and is the last 12-chapter serial released by Universal."Overview:'Junior G-Men of the Air'." TCM, 2019. Retrieved: July 11, 2019. The aircraft used in Junior G-Men of the Air are: * Fokker Super Universal c/n 826, NC972 * Travel Air 2000 c/n 181, NC901 * Ryan STA c/n 139, NC17305 * Brown B-3 NX266YSantoir, Christian. "Review: 'Junior G-Men of the Air'." Aeromovies, October 16, 2010. Retrieved: July 11, 2019. The locale for Junior G-Men of the Air was the Metropolitan Airport, Van Nuys, California. Aircraft owners at the airport supplied the Hollywood studios with aircraft for both ground and aerial scenes. Stunts * David Sharpe doubling Billy Halop * Tom Steele doubling Turhan Bey * Ken Terrell Reception Hal Erickson on the Allmovie website reviewed Junior G-Men of the Air, condensing it to: "Over the course of twelve weeks, the kids are pitted against the worst kinds of villains and pluguglies, but by the final chapter our heroes have thwarted the Black Dragons' plans to sabotage the American defense program. Despite the serial's title, however, the "Junior G-Men" hardly spend any time at all in the air."Erickson Hal. "Review: 'Junior G-Men of the Air'." allmovie.com, 2019. Retrieved: July 11, 2019. See also * Junior G-Men * Junior G-Men (serial) References Notes Citations Bibliography * Cline, William C. "Filmography"., In the Nick of Time. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1984, . * Farmer, James H. Celluloid Wings: The Impact of Movies on Aviation (1st ed.). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books 1984. . * Rainey, Buck. Serials and Series: A World Filmography, 1912–1956. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2010. . * Weiss, Ken and Ed Goodgold. To be Continued ...: A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials. New York: Bonanza Books, 1973. . External links * * * Category:1942 films Category:Bowery Boys films Category:American spy films Category:American aviation films Category:Pacific War films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Universal Pictures film serials Category:Films directed by Ray Taylor Category:Films directed by Lewis D. Collins Category:1940s action films Category:American action films